The Days of Winter
by mikotyzini
Summary: Blake and Yang have grown close over their time as partners, maybe closer than Blake is willing to admit. When someone new comes along that is determined to capture Yang's affections, their lives are temporarily turned upside down as jealousy consumes the ordinarily collected cat Faunus. Can our favorite bumblebees overcome this latest trial?
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a little story that I will be updating the next couple weeks. I just really wanted to write a jealous Blake and...this is what came out of that! It won't be terribly long (it's only about 20k words), but hopefully everyone still enjoys it! Read and review :) Reviews make me happy!**

**(Also, I know that we have no idea if Winter is older or younger than Weiss, but I figure that I had a 50/50 chance of being right here.)**

* * *

><p>"Come on, I could totally take Pyrrha in a fight and you know it!"<p>

Blake laughed, shaking her head at her partner's claim while they made their way through Beacon's hallways towards Team RWBY's dorm room. The two of them had just finished studying together in the library and were finally prepared to turn in for the night.

"I don't know, Yang…Pyrrha is a very, _very_ experienced fighter. No one in class has been able to defeat her yet."

"Psh…that's just because she hasn't fought me yet!" Yang replied confidently.

Blake decided not to comment, opting instead to laugh at Yang's self-assuredness. It was one of the traits that made Yang definitively…well, Yang.

In the time they had been together as partners, Blake had never once been bothered by Yang's boasts – because underneath the surface of sureness lay a modesty and willingness to sacrifice for others that Blake truly valued.

Of course, Yang refused to let the subject drop that easily.

"I'll prove it to you! I'll challenge Pyrrha next class!" the blonde proclaimed, instantly causing Blake to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"You mean that you'll actually choose someone besides _me_ for once?" she asked in amazement, holding one hand over her heart in mock hurt. It had become something of a running joke between them by this point, since Yang would choose to spar against Blake each and every time she was given the opportunity to pick her opponent – a fact that did not go unnoticed by everyone else in the class.

Yang laughed in response to Blake's act while she ran one hand absentmindedly through her gorgeous mane of long, golden locks.

"Well…you know…I just like for everyone in class to see what an amazing fighter you are," she replied with a smile.

Blake rolled her eyes, although her heart did not fail to speed up at the unexpected compliment.

"_And_ you like for everyone to see when you beat me," she added helpfully.

"Ah…you might have me there," Yang admitted, turning to send her a good-natured wink.

Blake playfully shoved her partner's shoulder, causing Yang to bump into the hallway wall.

"Then why are you a completely poor sport when I win?" Blake chastised the blonde, making Yang hang her head in shame.

"But it's ok, since Pyrrha is going to completely wipe the floor with you," she finished with a smirk. Yang instantly regained her swagger, giving Blake a beaming smile that was sunny enough to melt Weiss' sturdiest icicle.

"Dream on, kitten," Yang replied, using the unfortunate nickname she had settled upon for Blake (although it still made her blush every time Yang used it). "_When_ I defeat Pyrrha Nikos, I'll expect to collect a hefty reward from you!"

She shrugged her shoulders in response, not at all concerned with the proposition of losing.

"Sure, why not. It will never happen anyway," she replied nonchalantly.

Just last week, they had watched Pyrrha demolish the entirety of Team CRDL in a matter of minutes - for what must now be the twentieth time. The four boys seemingly could not get enough of Pyrrha's ferociously dished out punishment. There was no way Yang was going to win this bet.

But Blake's agreement caused Yang to let out a loud whoop of excitement anyway as she raised her fist in the air in delight.

"You've got yourself a deal, Belladonna!" she cried out eagerly, just as they reached their dorm room.

As she always did, Yang rushed forward and opened the door, giving Blake an exaggerated bow that caused the Faunus to laugh and roll her eyes while walking inside.

She immediately cut off her laugh when she sensed the unhappy atmosphere hanging over the room. It didn't take long to pinpoint the source of the mood - a certain heiress sitting shell shocked upon the edge of her bed. Ruby was settled beside her partner, slowly rubbing the girl's back in what could only appear to be consolation.

"Woah, who died?" Yang asked as soon as she had stepped into the room, swinging the door shut behind her. When the blonde stopped by Blake, she jabbed one elbow into Yang's side and nodded her head meaningfully towards Weiss.

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Blake asked in a much softer tone, trying to make up for her partner's less tactful approach.

The heiress sighed and responded without even glancing up at them, content with staring down at her scroll.

"Winter's coming."

Yang promptly laughed.

"I don't know if you've looked outside recently, but winter is kinda already here, Weiss," she commented as she pointed out the window, where a fresh layer of snow could still be seen laying upon the Beacon grounds.

Weiss sighed again while Ruby looked up at her sister with a frown.

"She means her _sister_, Winter," the brunette informed them. "Not the season."

"Oh."

Yang mouthed the word 'oops' towards Blake while the silence of a mausoleum enveloped the room once more.

"So…when is she coming?" Blake asked, finally daring to break the increasingly uncomfortable silence.

Weiss hardly ever spoke of her family, so Blake didn't know much about Weiss' sister. But based upon the heiress' mood right now, she could imagine that their relationship was rocky, at best.

"Well, thanks to her refusal to inform me of _anything_ with enough time to make adequate plans, she'll be here tomorrow evening. _And_, since she procrastinated so long, all of the nearby lodgings are completely booked since it's so close to the holidays."

"Uh…then where will she stay?" Yang asked curiously, causing Weiss to heave another big sigh before finally turning towards them – crystal blue eyes seeming to be asking for their forgiveness.

"With us, if you're all ok with it."

Ruby immediately began nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Of course we're ok with it! Right guys?" Ruby replied, sending Yang a glare that said her sister had better agree with the proposal and not make things any worse.

"Y-yeah! I mean…sounds great!" Yang replied hastily. Blake nodded her head in agreement with the two sisters, hoping that this would at least make Weiss feel slightly more relaxed about her sister's visit.

And Weiss did look visibly relieved upon receiving their approval, relaxing back into Ruby's loving embrace.

"Thank you," she said softly. "She'll only be here for a few days so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. And I'm sure the school has an extra bed we can squeeze in here…somewhere."

The four girls glanced around their already crowded room, each wondering what it would be like with a fifth person joining them. Eventually, Yang just shrugged at Blake and headed over to put her items away from studying.

It was only going to be a few days. What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

><p>That night, after Ruby and Weiss had already fallen asleep, Blake was still sitting on her bed reading by the soft light provided by a sole bedside lamp. For the average person, it wouldn't have been nearly enough light to read by, but with her superior night vision, the words were still crystal clear on the page. Quite a benefit when living with a particularly fussy heiress...<p>

She would often read at night after her teammates had gone to sleep – she always had one book or another to catch up on. But mostly she stayed awake because around now was when…

"Hey Blake?"

She paused mid-sentence and smiled when she heard the whisper come from above her. Turning her attention away from her book, she looked towards the bottom of her partner's bed while listening to the sounds of covers shuffling about above her. Seconds later, Yang's face came into view as she hung her head over the edge of her bed, peering at Blake upside down while her long golden hair dangled towards the floor.

The blonde grinned when she found that Blake was still awake and quickly swung herself off of the bed, dropping almost noiselessly to the floor.

"Impressive," Blake remarked sincerely, while scooting closer to the wall in order to make room for her partner to sit next to her on the bed.

Months ago, she had had to teach Yang how to land more quietly after the brawler had landed on the ground with an exorbitantly loud thud one too many times – earning herself the ire of a certain short-tempered heiress.

Weiss had threatened to have the girl's feet removed the next time she was woken up in such a manner, so Blake had forced the blonde to work with her after classes. Thankfully, Yang was quick to learn and an absolute pleasure to teach. Before too long (and not nearly long enough in Blake's mind), she was landing soundlessly on the balls of her feet, much like Blake did.

"Thanks!" Yang whispered, crawling underneath the covers. Blake felt her heart begin to race when Yang's arm brushed gently against her own - blushing when she thought about her partner's bare skin touching her so casually.

But she cast that thought out of her head almost as soon as it appeared, not wanting to get distracted by those…feelings…once again.

Yang had become comfortable with crawling into Blake's bed very early into their partnership - much earlier than Blake had been (if she ever would have been at ease with that, at all). But, as with many things Yang did, Blake had learned that sometimes objecting would lead to something even more embarrassing or uncomfortable happening.

As proof of this, she only needed to recall one of the many instances when Ruby had tried to tell her big sister 'no.'

The blonde just didn't take 'no' for an answer. At least, not very easily. So Blake hadn't spoken out against her partner invading her personal space, opting instead to scoot uncomfortably away from the girl on her own bed while the blonde would chatter incessantly.

But now, she was glad that she had never said anything since she rather enjoyed when Yang would drop down and spend some time talking to her before they would go to sleep. The time spent, just the two of them, reinforced her feelings for her partner – helping Blake grow closer to Yang than to anyone else she had ever known.

Still, it never failed to make her heart pound to have the stunning girl sitting so closely to her. She couldn't help but think of how many of the boys in their classes would kill just for the chance to experience this for even one night. Of course…Blake got to do this every single night…something she was both incredibly honored and protective of.

"What do you think Weiss' sister will be like?" Yang asked after she had made herself at home in Blake's sheets, her above-average body temperature already creating a nice, warm pocket of air surrounding them.

Blake closed her book, making sure to keep one finger placed between the pages to mark her place, before turning towards her partner.

Thanks to Blake's night vision, she could see Yang clearly even in this low light. And from the minimal distance in between them, Blake could say with complete certainty that Yang was far more beautiful than anyone else even knew. Sure, everyone already spoke of Yang as one of the prettiest girls in the school, but Blake could say without a doubt that Yang's beauty went far beyond anyone else she had ever seen. It was as if...the blonde glowed from within.

And recently, the blonde seemed to have been growing increasingly more gorgeous – something Blake would have never even thought to be possible if she hadn't been the one seeing it with her very own eyes. But this had made it even more difficult for Blake to look at Yang without a flush racing quickly to her cheeks.

"I think…" she began slowly, turning her eyes briefly away so that she could form some sort of coherent and intelligent thought that _wasn't_ about how beautiful Yang was, "she is probably very similar to Weiss. They were brought up by the same parents, after all."

"Yeah, but they don't seem to get along very well!" Yang replied.

Blake scoffed lightly at the rebuttal.

"What sisters do?"

Yang's only reply was to point one finger towards herself while directing another towards Ruby's bed with a crooked smile.

"Ok, but you two are the exception, not the rule," Blake hastily replied, realizing that she had already lost this argument.

"But if they don't get along…wouldn't you think they'd be different from one another? Have different beliefs and stuff?" Yang asked - not combatively, just…curiously.

Blake thought about that for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"Maybe…but, honestly, could you imagine Weiss getting along with _anyone_ before she got stuck with us? You saw how she reacted when Ruby was selected as team leader, after all."

Yang laughed quietly, the sound ringing like music in Blake's sensitive ears.

"I guess you're right," she replied. "What am I saying? Of course you're right; you're always right!"

Blake felt her ears twitch with happiness at the proclamation; the tiny movement not going unnoticed by her partner.

"What are you going to do about…" Yang gestured towards Blake's feline ears, causing them to twitch once again.

"Well…I guess that I'll just be wearing my bow in our room for a few days…" she replied, feeling pretty forlorn about the prospect. She had really grown accustomed to the freedom of being able to be bowless – at least while in the privacy of her own room.

When her teammates had first discovered that she was a Faunus, they had told her that they would support however she decided to present herself to the rest of the school - but insisted that within the confines of their own room, she be herself.

"That sucks," Yang replied bluntly, adding an adorable pout for Blake's plight.

"Yeah…but it's not worth getting her all riled up if she feels about Faunus the way her father does," she replied, appreciative of Yang's sympathy for her feelings. It had been Yang, after all, who had pushed hardest for Blake to ditch the bow when they were alone.

She noticed Yang observing her ears intently, looking almost as if she wanted to reach up and touch them.

"I'm going to miss seeing those cute little ears though!" Yang replied with a big grin.

Blake smiled in return. She knew that Yang really liked her ears. And, personally, she loved it when the blonde referred to them 'cute' or 'adorable.' It was almost as if Yang was calling _her_ cute and adorable.

"Alright, well I'll leave you be now," Yang suddenly said, giving Blake's knee a light pat through the covers before she slipped out from underneath them and stood up.

To Blake, this was always the worst part of her entire night.

When Yang would leave, the warmth would begin dissipating almost instantly – providing an obvious reminder that the girl was no longer sitting beside her. It would be one thing if Yang left and the warmth remained to keep Blake company, but losing both at once was always disappointing in a way Blake couldn't even begin to describe. But she could never think of a good way to ask Yang to stay without seeming…well, without it being weird.

And even if she could think of _how_ to ask, she would never be able to gather the courage to actually follow through.

"Goodnight, kitten!" Yang whispered before hauling herself up onto her bed, making hardly any noise at all as she disappeared from Blake's view.

"Goodnight, Yang," Blake whispered in response, listening to the sounds of her partner getting settled back into her own bed.

A soft sigh unconsciously passed her lips as she opened her book to where she had just left off.

* * *

><p>The next evening, she was standing with Weiss and Ruby outside the grand front entrance of Beacon, anxiously waiting for Winter to arrive. Yang was supposed to be there too, but the blonde must have gotten caught up in something and was running late. Which was hardly <em>unusual<em> for the girl, but still, Blake knew that Weiss would probably scold her for it later.

The normally composed heiress was broadcasting her nerves for everyone to see - fidgeting with anything she could get her fingers around: her clothing, her hair, Ruby's hand…

"Why is your sister visiting, anyway?" Blake decided to ask, realizing that they had never been given a reason last night.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Weiss answered with an annoyed huff. "She just left me a message saying that she would be here at this time and not to be late coming to get her. I doubt she has any reason at all other than it was her current whim and she enjoys disrupting my life in anyway possible."

"Wow…" was all Blake could say in response. It sounded like Winter was certainly going to be…difficult to please.

"And this would be her. Late, as usual," Weiss muttered in displeasure, nodding towards the decadent black town car approaching them.

Several seconds later, the car pulled to a smooth stop in front of them, allowing the chauffeur to jump out and walk around to open the back door. Blake and Ruby watched in avid interest as Winter Schnee stepped from the vehicle.

If Blake were forced to use one word to describe Winter, it would have to be – stunning. The girl appeared to be a couple of years older than them, or at least she gave off an air of being older. She was taller than Weiss, closer to Blake's height or maybe even taller. Her hair was stark white, just like Weiss', but fell in long, perfectly sculpted waves rather than straight lines.

And, shockingly, she seemed to be even more elegant and poised that Weiss, which Blake wouldn't have even believed to be possible before three seconds ago.

Maybe most surprising of all was that as soon as Winter's piercing blue eyes found Weiss, she broke into a huge smile, which was, by itself, nearly too radiant to look at.

"Weiss!" Winter exclaimed, walking quickly over to wrap her stiff sister in a strangely polite hug. She then held Weiss away by the shoulders and looked her up and down. "It's great to see you!"

Weiss didn't seem at all taken aback by Winter's merry greeting, while Blake and Ruby were still busy trying to collect their jaws off of the pavement in astonishment.

"Winter…good to see you're still doing well," Weiss responded plainly, evidently nowhere near as happy to be back in her sister's presence as Winter was.

"Oh, and these must be your teammates?" Winter asked when she finally noticed the two other girls standing there, still completely flabbergasted.

"Yes, this is Blake, and this is Ruby," Weiss said more animatedly as Blake and Ruby nodded their heads when Weiss introduced them.

"It's very nice to meet you," Ruby said politely, bowing her head slightly.

"You as well," Winter replied graciously, reaching out and shaking both of their hands in turn. She flashed a disarmingly charming smile when she shook Blake's hand, only succeeding in reminding Blake of someone else she knew…

Winter turned away as her chauffeur placed her luggage on the sidewalk beside her. "Thank you, Marshall. I'll see you in a few days."

The man tipped his hat politely before turning away from them. Blake could have sworn she heard the man heave a huge sigh in relief while he walked away, but brushed that off as just her imagination.

"So, where will I be staying?" Winter asked lightly. Blake glanced quickly at Ruby, suddenly feeling uneasy about what was to come.

Weiss also appeared to be much more insecure than usual when she answered.

"You'll be staying with us in our room."

At first, there was silence. Then something worse than silence emerged.

"You expect me to stay in a _dorm_ _room?_" Winter remarked incredulously, her smile now completely gone from her face while she leveled a withering scowl at her sister.

"Yes," Weiss replied firmly, the strained effort of attempting to hold her ground showing in her slightly imperfect posture. "Since you gave me such short notice, everything else in the area had already been booked."

"You're a _Schnee_," Winter sneered towards the girl. "Or, at least, I _thought_ you were. You could have easily bought an entire building. Or _convinced _someone out of their room, if you were really creative."

"Sorry, I didn't feel like ruining someone's vacation just for you to have their room," Weiss shot back. "And since I'm not 'daddy's little angel,' I don't just go around buying hotels."

Winter rolled her eyes and straightened up to her full height, crossing her arms firmly over her chest.

"Well, you'll have to figure _something_ out because…"

"Hey guys! So sorry I'm late."

Yang screeched to a stop beside them, placing her hands briefly on her knees and breathing heavily from what must have been a very long sprint across campus to meet them.

"Professor Goodwitch made me clean all of the boards in her classroom since I…"

The blonde abruptly stopped talking when she realized that everyone was staring at her, including a new set of eyes.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to be rude," Yang remarked as she turned towards Weiss' sister, extending a hand with a warm smile.

"I'm Yang. Fourth teammate on Team RWBY and big sister to that little critter over there," she said, using her other hand to point towards Ruby.

Winter stared at Yang for several seconds with an expression that Blake couldn't quite put her finger on, before a big smile reappeared on her face – the girl's attractiveness back in full force.

"Winter Schnee," the girl replied as she reached out and shook Yang's hand, hanging on for a few seconds longer than what might be considered normal.

"Uh…nice to meet you, Winter," Yang responded in confusion when the girl finally let go of her hand. "So, do you guys want to take Winter's stuff back to our room and then grab a late dinner?"

"Actually…" Weiss began.

"That sounds lovely," Winter cut her sister off, flashing a dangerous smile in Weiss' direction before turning back towards Yang. "Please lead the way."

Yang looked at Weiss curiously before she shrugged and easily picked up Winter's luggage, even though it looked like it weighed a ton. The blonde shot a quick smile towards Blake that said, 'see? look how well everyone's getting along.'

Blake smiled back, but her face fell when she noticed how keenly Winter was watching Yang walk in front of them, fervent eyes roving up and down the blonde's figure. After several seconds, Winter sped up and fell into step beside Yang, the two girls chatting amicably while they headed through Beacon's front gates.

Falling back, Blake walked next to Weiss and Ruby.

"Uh…Weiss…" Blake began as she closely observed the two girls in front of them, feeling the hairs on her arms stand on end when she watched Winter laugh and playfully swat at Yang's shoulder.

"That went much better than expected," Weiss replied with a sigh, picking up Ruby's hand while they made their way back to their room.

As she looked back towards her partner, she wondered if this could possibly be 'better' when she felt so horrible at this moment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 appears! Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Winter hadn't uttered a single complaint when they had dropped off her luggage in their tiny dorm room. In fact, she had praised them for creating the bunk beds in order to optimize the limited space. Well, she had complimented Yang for the idea...as far as Winter was concerned, the rest of them didn't seem to exist.<p>

They had then rushed down to the cafeteria to grab some food before it closed for the night. Making it just in time, they now sat at their usual table in the mostly abandoned room, peacefully eating their meal – which Winter had only made one 'subpar' comment about so far.

Of course, nothing about this dinner felt agreeable to Blake.

After they had taken their normal seats, with Ruby sitting next to Weiss and Yang next to Blake, Winter had decided to plant herself on Yang's other side. And the girl seemed determined upon monopolizing the blonde's attention in any way possible. She was chatting up a storm while peppering Yang with myriad of different questions.

Her airy laugh was already gnawing at Blake's nerves. And the _touching_. _Every_ single time Winter laughed, she _had_ to reach up and push Yang's shoulder slightly.

Winter probably thought that no one noticed how she would then run her hand down Yang's arm to the blonde's elbow before finally letting go, but Blake noticed - and it made her blood boil with fury every time.

She had given up trying to have a conversation with her partner some time ago, and was now staring gloomily down at her food while she attempted to block out the sounds from beside her.

What made her feel _so much_ _worse_ was how Yang was responding to all of this. The blonde wasn't fazed _at all_. In fact, it actually seemed like Yang was _enjoying_ all of the attention. At least, she was certainly doing nothing to convince Winter or Blake otherwise.

"Blake."

She looked up from her tray when she heard Yang speaking to her, finding her partner staring at her intently, lilac eyes dancing along with the small smile tugging at her mouth.

"Are you going to eat that strawberry?" she asked, pointing her fork down to the fruit that was sitting forgotten on Blake's tray.

"N-no, I'm not," Blake responded quickly, startled by Yang's sudden focus on her. "You can have it."

Yang grinned before she speared the strawberry and popped it into her mouth, winking at Blake while chewing it contentedly. The wink brought an instant blush to her cheeks.

"Yang, could you tell me more about that Nevermore you mentioned earlier," Winter interjected, placing one hand on Yang's shoulder to subtly direct the blonde's attention back her way.

Blake felt a small hiss leave her lips when Yang turned away, but thankfully no one else seemed to have heard it. She sent a glare towards Weiss, who (as far as she was concerned) was fully responsible for bringing Winter into their lives. Though Weiss didn't even notice Blake's ire since she was too busy staring at Yang and Winter in amazement, as if she were watching an endangered species interact in a zoo exhibit. And Ruby was too busy eating to notice anything happening above the food on her tray.

Mercifully, dinner ended a little while later, allowing them to collect their trays and exit the cafeteria and head back towards their room.

Unfortunately, Winter seemed to have other ideas entirely.

"Yang, do you think you could give me a tour of Beacon now?"

Yang chuckled at the suggestion.

"Don't you want Weiss to show you around?" she asked, politely worried that Weiss would be upset at her for stealing alone time with her sister.

But Weiss shook her head at the same time Winter did, the two sisters being in complete agreement with each other for the first time since Winter had arrived.

"Weiss and I will have plenty of time to catch up later. I'd like to see _your_ favorite spots on campus," Winter replied, flashing what could only be described as an alluring smile.

Yang looked at Weiss one more time, asking, "Are you sure you don't want to come too, Weiss?"

Weiss shook her head again.

"No, it's really ok," she responded honestly, although Yang still seemed confused about why Weiss seemed to be so relieved to excuse herself.

"Uh…ok…Blake? Do you want to come with?" Yang asked, turning to give Blake a warm, inviting smile - the kind that said that Yang truly did want her to accompany them. But, peering at her from behind Yang's back stood Winter, whose unfriendly eyes were telling Blake that she was far from welcome on this excursion.

"Naw, it's ok," she replied as nonchalantly as she could manage while her mind was screaming that it was _not_ ok. "I have some reading I need to catch up on. You two have fun."

She certainly didn't enjoy making up excuses to Yang, and seeing an elated grin light up Winter's face made her feel sick to her stomach - but she didn't think that she could go another minute watching the two of them get along so well with each other. At least, not tonight.

And Yang seemed to be genuinely disappointed that Blake didn't want to go with them, which only made her feel worse.

But they waved their goodbyes as they set off on what would likely be a whirlwind tour of campus, while Blake trudged quietly back to the room with Ruby and Weiss. Once they'd arrived, Blake crashed into her bed and picked up a book, as she had told Yang she was going to do. Hopefully, a good story would erase the mental image of her tall, blonde partner walking away arm in arm with Weiss' gorgeous sister, laughing like they were having the time of their lives.

And maybe it would also help untie the knot resting heavily in her stomach…

The two returned hours later, after Weiss had already turned out the lights for the night. Of course, Blake hadn't even been able to consider falling asleep when her thoughts kept returning to where Yang and Winter were and what they might be doing together. She had been lying restlessly in bed for some time now, staring up at the bottom of the empty bed propped above her own.

When Yang and Winter opened the door, Winter was still giggling loudly over something. Blake felt her ears flatten under her bow as her new least favorite sound ripped through the tranquil room. Thankfully, Yang hushed the girl before the two began stumbling around in the darkness trying to prepare themselves for bed.

Several minutes later everyone was tucked into their respective beds, allowing Blake to finally breathe a small sigh of relief.

She knew that she had taken an instant disliking to Winter Schnee, but couldn't figure out why Yang didn't feel the same. The two of them normally held mutual feelings towards most of the acquaintances they met. But this time, it seemed like Yang really enjoyed the beautiful girl's company – the constant flattery undoubtedly helped tremendously.

Closing her eyes and shaking her head slightly, she decided that it was probably because Yang hadn't been there to witness how Winter had behaved towards Weiss when she had first gotten to Beacon. By appearances, Winter was beautiful and seemed to be very amiable, but that beauty merely masked something much more sinister. Eventually, Yang would be able to see that too…right?

"Blake?"

Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard her partner's whisper, realizing that she had completely forgotten to mentally prepare for their nightly routine. The sound of covers rustling told her that Yang was going to be peeking her head over the side of the bed in just a few seconds to see if she was still awake.

She could sense Yang's presence by the gentle wave of heat that brushed over her face. And, turning towards the blonde, she knew that Yang would be able to see her eyes glinting in the darkness.

The grin Yang gave her made her heart pound loudly. She couldn't help but to stare while Yang vaulted from her bed and silently clambered under the sheets beside her.

"So," Yang began, her aura already providing a nice blanket of warmth that made Blake want to curl up closer to the girl.

"So…?" she responded curiously, keeping her voice as soft as possible in order to avoid waking their teammates or Winter.

"She's nice, right?"

"I…guess…"

It was the only response she could give to such an unexpected comment. Could she say what she really felt about the girl when Yang was clearly feeling something completely different?

"She's really different from Weiss though," Yang continued quietly, "She's a lot more…gregarious…than Weiss ever is. And jeez if she isn't pretty."

The words sliced through Blake like a hot knife – cutting deeper than she could ever have imagined.

"I'm…I'm pretty tired, Yang…" she replied, not wanting this conversation to continue any further than it already had.

"Oh, ok. Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you up…" Yang replied apologetically, instantly making Blake feel guilty for the lie she had just told.

She didn't want the girl to leave…she wanted her to stay…but she also couldn't bear the idea of hearing Yang talk about Winter any longer.

"Night, kitten," the blonde whispered softly before hauling herself back up to her bed and settling in for the night.

Blake didn't know why Yang's use of her nickname hurt so badly…but it burned in her chest. She rolled over onto her side and curled up into as small of a ball as possible. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she felt two big teardrops slide down her cheeks.

Why was this getting to her so much? She didn't own all of Yang's attention. And it wasn't as if she weren't used to people flirting with her partner. Most of the available boys at Beacon had already made _some_ attempt at winning the blonde's affection by now.

But…Yang never gave them much attention in return – laughing off their advances and coming right back to Blake's side. And she had certainly never called them handsome or…pretty…

Blake had thought that Yang was only being friendly because Winter was Weiss' sister, but could Yang really be falling for Winter's act?

She clenched her fists tightly to her chest as that last thought permeated her brain until a restless sleep eventually claimed her.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Blake woke up only to have her mood immediately spoiled when she saw Winter already dressed and sitting upon her bed typing on her scroll, looking positively immaculate. The girl had even beaten Weiss as the earliest riser - the first time such a feat had been accomplished since they had moved into the room.<p>

With a thud that was nonexistent for everyone except Blake, Yang appeared on the ground between the bunk beds, stretching her arms high above her head while she let out a large yawn. As she did so, the tank top the blonde regularly wore to bed rode up her stomach slightly, giving everyone a view of the girl's flat, chiseled stomach muscles.

Blake politely looked away, as she always did, only to find Winter ogling the girl openly.

The discovery caused her anger to immediately skyrocket. She abruptly stood up from her own bed, stepping in front of Yang and blocking Winter's view of her partner. Only when she turned towards Yang did she realize how incredibly close she was now standing to the girl. She could feel the warm air radiating off of Yang's body, making Blake want to pull the girl into her own bed and hold her close for a few more hours of blissful sleep.

"Good morning, partner," Yang said with a drowsy smile as she finally let her arms fall back to her sides.

"Morning, Yang…" Blake replied quietly before slipping by the girl towards her dresser now that the show had ended.

A half an hour later, all four of them had managed to get ready for their classes and head down to breakfast together, like they always did.

Breakfast turned out to be nearly the same as dinner, with Winter constantly vying for Yang's complete attention. Only now that the cafeteria was packed with other students, Winter was drawing quite a bit of attention, herself.

Blake could feel the eyes of nearly half of the room trained upon their table, and could hear the whispered conversations discussing the new beauty sitting beside Yang. Most were at least correct in supposing that it was Weiss' sister due to the similar hair and features, but Blake had to mentally restrain herself when she heard some imbecile suggest that Winter was actually Yang's girlfriend who had come to visit – because of course Yang Xiao Long would have a girlfriend that was that beautiful.

Once again, Blake glowered at her food much more than she ate it, resulting in a pretty full tray being thrown into the garbage when it was time to head to class.

Thanks to Weiss' ingenious forward thinking, she had spoken with all of their professors to request permission for Winter to sit in on their classes while the girl was visiting. And, much to Blake's consternation, their teachers had been perfectly fine with allowing a _stranger_ attend their lectures. It seemed like a potential breach of security, but what did Blake know…

So, the five girls walked to their first class of the day, which just happened to be Advanced Fighting Strategies, taught by Professor Goodwitch. It was, by far, everyone's favorite class, since they were learning about real life combat scenarios and how to implement more complex team fighting strategies. And, best of all, they usually got to end the class with a live sparring match between a pair of students (or, in Pyrrha's case, between one student and an entire team).

They entered the large lecture hall single file, with Blake begrudgingly bringing up the rear, glaring daggers into Winter's back. The room was built for the dual purpose of teaching and showcasing battles, resulting in the seats being situated some thirty feet above the lecture floor/arena below.

The first three girls took their usual seats at the end of one of the front rows – with Ruby on the end, Weiss sitting next to her partner, and Yang sitting next to Weiss.

When Winter moved to take the seat beside Yang, the blonde looked at Blake and then back to Winter with a hesitant expression.

"Uh…" was all Yang managed to get out before Winter realized what was bothering her.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Is this where you normally sit?" Winter asked, turning towards Blake with eyes feigning innocence.

Blake gave a curt nod, mentally bracing herself for what she knew was going to come next.

"But you wouldn't mind if I sat here today, would you?"

Winter's voice was dripping in honey while her eyes sparked in an unspoken challenge.

Because Winter knew…what could Blake do in this situation? If she said no, she would look incredibly rude and have to explain _why_ it wasn't ok for Winter to sit in her seat. And she would guess that 'I don't want you to be near Yang' would need much more explanation than she was prepared to give right now.

"Sure, that's fine," she replied instead, forcing what she hoped would look like a genuine smile while setting her bag down on the desk one seat over. She could feel Yang's eyes trained on her, but refused to meet the girl's gaze while she unpacked her things for class.

Advanced Fighting Strategies was normally Blake's favorite class - Professor Goodwitch was a great teacher and the material was always interesting and applicable to their lives.

Today, however, Blake found it impossible to concentrate on the lesson, let alone enjoy anything about it. Instead, her attention was focused on Winter – who was constantly writing tiny notes and slipping them over to Yang, who would read them and giggle or smile before writing something down and returning them.

That was something that she and Yang usually did during class…making fun of someone caught sleeping or giving an outrageously incorrect answer.

Fortunately, they eventually made it to the last section of class – the spar.

"Ok…" Glynda began after moving her podium to a safe location off to the side of the room. Standing in the center of the floor below, she now had everyone's rapt attention while they anxiously waited for the battle to begin.

"Would anyone like to volunteer today?"

Before Glynda had even finished the question, Yang's hand shot high up in the air - the blonde nearly standing out of her seat in excitement.

"Miss Xiao Long," Glynda replied with a perceptive smile. "Come on down."

Yang gave a soft whoop of excitement as she stood from the desk. Instead of taking the stairs, the blonde jumped the railing down to the floor below, landing with a remarkably quiet thump on the wooden floor. Blake made a mental note to compliment her partner on the display of skill later.

"Always has to add some flare…"

Blake let out a huff of laughter. When several nearby students glanced her way in confusion, she flushed when she realized that only she had been able to hear Glynda's remark.

"Who would you like to challenge today, Yang?" Glynda asked when Yang reached her side, bouncing up and down in anticipation.

Blake had practically already pulled out Gambol Shroud when Yang yelled:

"I challenge Pyrrha!"

Her heart dropped when she remembered the stupid bet they had made a couple days ago…what already felt like a lifetime ago. And it just figured that this would be the one day where she would love for Yang to challenge her to a duel – for things between the two of them to be normal just for a few moments.

"Interesting…" Glynda commented before turning towards the rest of the class. "Miss Nikos, if you will?"

The rest of the class whispered excitedly at the unexpected change of events while Pyrrha calmly headed downstairs, the epitome of poise and elegance.

"That's _the_ Pyrrha Nikos?" Winter remarked eagerly, opening staring at the redhead when she passed.

Blake could only nod her head, feeling an inexplicable pit forming in her stomach.

A couple minutes later, Yang and Pyrrha had reemerged from the changing rooms clad in their combat gear, ready for battle. Glynda moved up into the seats in order to give the two combatants use of the entire floor. Yang and Pyrrha stood several paces apart, facing each other while they waited for permission to start.

"Ok ladies…you may begin!"

As soon as the words left Glynda's mouth, Yang blasted forward like a shot out of a cannon, arms swinging and loud rounds from Ember Cecilia echoing off the walls. But Pyrrha was more than prepared to handle the blonde's initial attacks, parrying the blows gracefully with her javelin and shield. The ringing sounds of metal clashing with metal combined with shotgun blasts to envelop the classroom in the sound of battle. They created a blur of yellow and red spinning across the floor, their motions almost difficult to track at the speed they were throwing blows.

For a few seconds, the fight seemed evenly matched with both girls effectively dodging or blocking the other's strikes. But then…the tide turned decidedly in Pyrrha's favor.

Yang threw a right hook that was a swing and a miss, pulling the blonde off marginally balance from the force she had put behind the attack. That tiny sliver of weakness was more than enough for Pyrrha to instantly capitalize upon.

The redhead kneed Yang hard in the stomach, knocking the blonde to her knees as the wind was momentarily knocked from her lungs. A swift roundhouse kick immediately followed, finding its mark on Yang's temple and leveling Blake's partner to the ground.

The class collectively groaned, realizing that Pyrrha had already gained the upper hand on her opponent.

Yang scrambled back to her feet as quickly as possible, only to have her legs cut out from under her when Pyrrha slammed Milo across both of Yang's ankles. The blonde hit her back with a loud crack just as Pyrrha leapt into the air, aiming her shield directly towards Yang's chest in what would be the final blow.

Yang managed to fire her gauntlets at the very last second, the force of the blasts propelling her backwards across the floor and out of harm's way - leaving Pyrrha's shield to slam viciously into an empty patch of floor.

Yang tumbled back to her feet as Pyrrha raced towards her, but she projected her next move - a left jab that was far too slow. Pyrrha skillfully leapt over the attack, twisting in midair to hook her left leg around Yang's neck. The redhead then torqued her body to harshly slam the blonde head first into the ground while she rolled away unharmed.

The brawler was beginning to move slower, but still climbed back to her feet, only to be leveled by another swipe with Milo. She dragged herself up again just to be brutally smashed backwards into the wall by Pyrrha's shield.

Blake winced with each blow her partner was receiving, knowing that she was at least partially responsible for the position Yang was currently in. The blonde would never have challenged Pyrrha if Blake hadn't claimed that she couldn't win…

"Why won't she stay down?" Winter wondered out loud. The class let out another groan when Pyrrha's left foot connected with Yang's jaw, the crack painfully audible even from this distance.

Blake turned away, not able to stand watching the bloodbath any longer. She could feel every fiber in her body screaming at her to race to her partner's side - Yang was in trouble – she needed Blake's help. In her mind, she said to herself over and over again that it wasn't real, it wasn't real.

That's when she noticed Ruby.

Ruby didn't look concerned at all by the fact that Pyrrha was beating the living daylight out of her older sister. In fact, Ruby was perched on the very edge of her seat as she watched the battle intently, eyes never leaving Yang.

Seeing this, Blake turned back towards the fight, leaning forward slightly while searching for whatever it was Ruby was seeing that she hadn't. Only then did she noticed the spark in Yang's eyes, smoldering even as Pyrrha continued to land blow after blow.

Suddenly, it clicked.

Yang was allowing Pyrrha to hit her. In fact, she was practically begging for it. With every blow the redhead landed, Yang absorbed more energy – an ability no one outside of the members of Team RWBY currently knew about. Pyrrha didn't realize that each 'successful' strike was only making the blonde more and more deadly.

Pyrrha kicked Yang in the stomach again, sending the brawler crashing back into the wall. While Yang struggled slowly back to her feet, Pyrrha aimed another death blow, twirling Milo around her head before swinging her trusty javelin brutally towards the side of Yang's head. Should it connect, the strike would surely knock Yang out for good.

Inches from her head, Yang's hand shot up and stopped Milo in its tracks. The entire classroom seemed to stand still when the action in the ring below suddenly screeched to a sudden stop. It lasted for just a second - just long enough for the blonde to look up at Pyrrha with a grin now on her face.

In one tug, she ripped Milo from Pyrrha's hands and chucked the weapon across the room with so much force it buried several feet deep into the opposite wall.

The class let out a cheer – someone had finally managed to get Pyrrha on her heels. When Yang leapt forward, the redhead held her shield up above her head to block the fiery fists hurtling down towards her head. The attack landed with an audible clang reverberating off of the walls. The power of the contact flowed through the shield, knocking Pyrrha to her knees under the sheer amount of force. Wasting no time at all, Yang tore the shield from Pyrrha's hands, where it soon joined Milo lodged into the wall.

Without her weapons, Pyrrha was now forced to engage in hand to hand combat with one of the most skilled brawlers in the school. In a move of complete showboating only Yang Xiao Long would be crazy enough to do, the blonde ripped off her gauntlets and cast them onto the floor, the weapons rolling slowly to the side of the arena.

Pyrrha was able to block the first couple of attacks, but Yang was quickly overpowering her, fueled by all of Pyrrha's own blows. Soon, every fourth strike was breaking through Pyrrha's block. Then, every third strike. The redhead was quickly beginning to wear down under the powerful onslaught.

A few seconds later, a brutal right jab went unblocked and connected directly on Pyrrha's sternum, throwing the girl backwards and to the ground. Yang was on top of her before she could even regain her feet, causing Pyrrha to raise her hands in submission.

"I surrender," the redhead spoke softly. Yang immediately dropped her fists as she backed away and helped pull the girl to her feet with a bloodied smile.

The entire audience erupted into applause, Blake included. Pyrrha had had a perfect record until that moment. Of course, the redhead laughed cheerfully while she gave Yang a friendly pat on the back in congratulations, ever the image of sportsmanship and camaraderie.

The blonde looked up to the stands with a big smile, eyes quickly finding Blake so that she could send her a wink.

"Great fight, ladies," Glynda said while Yang bounded up the stairs, slapping hands with all of the people she passed. "I think that should be enough for the day. I'll see you next week."

The students all stood after they were dismissed, talking excitedly to each other while they collected their belongings and headed out of the room.

"So, what'd you think?" Yang asked Blake breathlessly, still more than a little winded from her fight.

"That was amazing!" Winter replied before Blake could respond, moving slightly in front of Blake to grab Yang's attention. "You just defeated Pyrrha Nikos!"

Yang gave Winter a smile, trying to play it cool.

"Yeah well…_someone_ told me that I couldn't do it…so I just had to prove them wrong." Yang sent Blake another wink at that statement, causing a small blush to dust across Blake's cheeks.

"Uh…Yang?"

They all turned back towards the arena at the sound of Pyrrha's voice calling up to them.

"Would you mind giving us a hand?"

Ruby let out a small giggle when they saw Nora completely off the ground, holding onto Milo with both hands as her feet pressed futilely against the wall in an attempt to dislodge the weapon. Jaune was having a similar amount of luck removing the shield from beside it.

"Oh…oops," Yang said with a small laugh, running back downstairs to help Team JNPR retrieve Pyrrha's weapons.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited and reviewed so far! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :) **

* * *

><p>The news of Pyrrha's defeat spread through the school like wildfire - with some of the upperclassmen even approaching the blonde to congratulate her and ask her how she had done it.<p>

Blake would have thought she would get tired of hearing Yang retell the fight over and over again - how Pyrrha had beaten her to within an inch of consciousness, how Yang had waited patiently until the very last second as she lured Pyrrha into a false sense of security before striking - but she never did. Her partner had definitely earned the right to boast today, and Blake would never want to rob her of this moment.

What was bothersome, however, was the way Winter was now hanging all over Yang's arm – practically cooing in admiration every time someone would approach to applaud Yang.

It seemed that Yang's combat abilities had convinced Winter that Yang was truly worth going after – and the elder Schnee was definitely pursuing her relentlessly.

Blake found herself growing increasingly agitated by the girl's mere _existence_ in the world. Fortunately, tonight promised her some reprieve, as it was her and Yang's weekly partner practice session. And, surely Winter wouldn't be –

"Hey, Blake! Is it ok for Winter to watch us practice tonight?"

After freezing for a fraction of a second, she smiled and nodded her head.

"Of course."

Her words may have come out steady and calm, but internally she felt her heart sink as the thought of spending any alone time with Yang today was ripped away from her.

After they had changed into their practice gear in their room, she trudged slowly behind Yang and Winter on their way to the practice rooms. Yang tried to speak to her several times, but Blake answered in short sentences – if even that. She caught the curious glances the blonde was sending her way, but pretended not to notice - focusing instead on the floor while walking through the familiar halls.

She just wanted to get this practice over with as quickly as possible so she could go back to the room and lose herself in another book.

Following Yang and Winter into the first empty practice room, she immediately found herself in a more comfortable setting – the largely empty, square room had thick padding covering the floors and walls. The ceilings were exceptionally high, providing ample space for the more vertically oriented huntsmen to operate. And (a recently added feature) every surface was completely fireproof.

The school encouraged partners and teams to practice here as often as they could. And while it could be considered dangerous for them to be practicing unsupervised, the medical ward happened to be conveniently located within ten seconds of the practice areas.

She ignored Winter as the girl took a seat in one of the chairs lining one wall. Taking her place in the middle of the room, she waited for Yang to take a position in front of her.

"Ok, Belladonna, are you ready to face the current champion of Advanced Fighting Strategies?" Yang remarked boastfully, her genuine smile belying much of the ego that could have been misconstrued from the statement.

Blake scoffed lightly in return, relaxing slightly as they slipped into their normal routine of banter before battle.

"Remind me to thank Pyrrha for softening you up," she responded with a smirk, drawing Gambol Shroud and crouching down in her ready stance.

Yang grinned and cracked her knuckles, waving Blake towards her with one hand.

"Come get some, kitten."

Blake couldn't help smiling – feeling some of her tension begin to dissolve away.

Shooting forward, she jumped at the very last second and tumbled through the air above Yang, leaving one of her shadow clones where she had just been for Yang to foolishly attack.

Unfortunately, Yang knew Blake better than anyone else and, by now, could very easily differentiate between the real Blake and one of her clones if given enough time. Completely ignoring the first clone, lilac eyes tracked Blake's trajectory through the air, waiting for Blake to hit the ground again. Noticing this, Blake landed on her feet and immediately dove to the side, narrowly escaping the forceful kick Yang had aimed her way.

It was critical for Blake to dodge all of Yang's attacks, as the brawler had enough power behind her blows to completely level Blake if she landed a good one.

Blake had learned this the hard way…having initially believed that she could absorb at least a couple of the girl's punches if need be. She had been very, very…sorely…wrong.

Only when Blake was sure she had put enough distance between the two of them did she spin back around to locate her partner.

She was suddenly brought back down to earth when her eyes flitted across Winter sitting across the room from her, directly behind a certain fiery blonde barrel rushing towards her.

Her brief moment of hesitation was instantly taken advantage of - giving her no chance at all of dodging Yang when the girl came hurtling towards her.

A cement shoulder slammed into Blake's abdomen when Yang collided into her like a ton of bricks, the momentum behind the blonde's tackle throwing both of them from their feet.

Blake felt her back and head smash down onto the ground and for a very brief instant was thankful for all of the padding - before Yang's own body slammed down on top of her. She heard her breath leave her lungs in a loud 'whoosh' as elbows and knees dug into various spots of her body, undoubtedly leaving some rather choice bruises to be discovered later.

She laid there motionless with Yang's body still pressing her firmly into the ground, the pressure on her chest preventing her from regaining the wind that had just been knocked out of her. She made no effort to immediately move, instead waiting patiently for Yang to figure out her new orientation and get off of her.

"Are you ok?" Yang asked, finally scrambling to her hands and knees and propping herself up above Blake's head, legs straddling Blake's while her hands were placed on either side of Blake's head.

Blake tried not to enjoy their close proximity, but she couldn't help it. She could already feel her skin rejoicing at the warmth emanating from Yang's aura. From this distance, she could see Yang's lilac eyes so perfectly…every tiny fleck in them as clear as day. And, the worry in her gaze told Blake that she was currently the _only_ thing on Yang's mind.

"I think so..." she muttered softly in response, feeling another blush creep onto her cheeks while she fought to keep her eyes from drifting to Yang's lips or…lower.

"I thought for sure you would move…" Yang whispered, appearing rather distressed for having just won that round. The blonde reached up one hand and tenderly tucking a strand of Blake's hair behind one ear, the contact lighting her cheeks on fire.

"Y-yeah…I probably should have, shouldn't I?" she responded with a dry laugh, her thoughts finally returning bitterly to the reason why she hadn't been able to move in time.

And the reason chose that instant to clear her throat loudly, evidently bothered by how much time Yang was spending with Blake pinned to the floor beneath her. To the outside observer, it probably didn't appear to be a strictly platonic position at all.

"Are you alright?" Winter called out from her chair. The question caused Yang to give a small jolt of surprise before turning around, seeming to have completely forgotten that they weren't practicing alone.

"I'm fine," Blake responded through slightly gritted teeth as the moment was destroyed, tapping Yang's shoulder to tell her partner it was time to get up.

Yang compliantly clambered off of her and extended one hand to help Blake to her feet. She groaned on the way up, feeling all sorts of bruises loudly announcing their presence.

"Are you ok to go again?" Yang asked, peering at her with worried eyes while still holding onto Blake's hand.

It was one of Yang's most endearing qualities – the depth of her caring for her friends and family. Blake had initially noticed this quality when watching Yang interact with Ruby, which had made complete sense to her after hearing how the two girls had grown up. Ruby had needed a mother, and Yang had been there as best she could to fill that role. But, over time, Blake noticed that the same protective nature began to apply to her and, to a slightly lesser extent, Weiss as well.

Unfortunately, Yang couldn't shield her tonight from what was really troubling her.

"I think…I'll go back to the room now, if that's ok with you," she replied quietly, regretfully pulling her hand from Yang's grasp. She could feel remorse already beginning to swell in her chest when Yang's eyes filled with even more concern and…surprise.

This definitely hadn't been the hardest blow Blake had received – and Blake wasn't usually willing to give up so easily – so she knew Yang would be wondering why she was backing away from their practice so willingly.

But, Blake also knew that Yang wouldn't push her for a reason, even though right now she kind of wished that Yang would. Demand an answer…or an explanation…

"Do you want me to walk you back to the room?" the blonde asked instead, looking almost hopeful that Blake would accept the offer. But Blake shook her head immediately in response – not wanting to fake her 'injuries' more than she already was.

"No, that's not necessary, really," she replied, noticing that Winter seemed to have become impatient with their hushed conversation and was now striding over to them.

"Are you done already?" the girl asked curiously, drawing Yang's surprised glance once again.

"Uh…"

"Just me," Blake quickly replied for the both of them.

"Oh! Then Yang, maybe you would like to spar with me?" Winter asked excitedly, a smooth smile once again gracing her features. Blake bit back a scowl at Winter's expression of genuine interest, seeing the calculated manipulation still sparking within the girl's eyes.

"Well…I…" Yang sputtered, looking at Blake one more time.

"It's fine. I'll just see you back at the room," she responded before quickly turning and heading out of the room, making sure to overemphasize every sore spot she felt until she was safely on the other side of the door.

Leaning against the hallway wall for just a second, she closed her eyes while she tried to steady her emotions. She could have sworn that for just a split second, Yang had actually looked disappointed that she was leaving. Almost like…Yang had really wanted to walk back with her…

But that couldn't possibly be. Blake had left her partner to 'spar' with an heiress to Schnee Dust Company, a girl of immeasurable wealth and beauty who was obviously very interested in Yang.

What could Yang possibly have to be disappointed about?

Her penniless, orphan, _Faunus_ partner not staying for their entire practice time?

Not likely.

* * *

><p>When she finally made it back to the room, Blake found Ruby and Weiss were already there. Ruby was laying on her stomach on Weiss' bed flipping through some weapon magazine, while the heiress sat at the desk dutifully finishing her school work. When they heard the sound of the door opening, the two girls glanced up for just long enough to see who it was before turning back to their reading.<p>

Blake flung her bag over onto her bed, and quickly followed suit, crashing down on the covers with a slight groan of pain.

"Where are they?" Weiss asked with a quick sideways glance from her textbook.

"Practicing together," Blake responded in exasperation.

Weiss scoffed in amusement at her reply.

"Winter Schnee…sparing. There's something you don't see every day," she remarked under her breath while continuing to scribble down answers to her homework assignment.

"They seem to get along really well!" Ruby piped up joyfully from her spot on Weiss' bed.

"Yeah…for now," Weiss replied thoughtfully. "It's actually kind of entertaining – Winter is being much kinder than usual in order to keep up appearances in front of Yang. I'm getting to see a side of her I've never seen before."

"Shouldn't we…tell Yang, or something?" Blake spoke up. "Let her know that Winter is just putting on an act?"

Weiss and Ruby both looked towards her, varying degrees of thoughtfulness written on their faces. For a brief instant, Blake felt a brief hope that her teammates would back her up in telling Yang what Winter was really doing.

That hope was dashed when her two teammates reached their decision, shaking their heads in unison.

"She won't be here that long…"

"Plus, having her put on an act is far better than arguing with her all the time," Weiss added. "Yang will be fine – she just needs to be careful about developing any feelings. This is a game Winter likes to play - win over the pretty girl, then parade her around like a trophy. But she won't hesitate to throw Yang away as soon as someone else catches her fancy."

"Yang would never develop feelings for someone like her," she responded assuredly.

Her confidence instantly disappeared when Weiss gave her a look filled with genuine confusion.

"Why wouldn't she?" the girl asked curiously. "Winter isn't just first in line to inherit one of the largest companies in Remnant – she's smart, sophisticated, elegant…"

"And suuuper pretty," Ruby added, before sputtering when Weiss turned her way.

"I-I mean…she's just pretty – in a typical pretty way…like a model or something! Not like…you're so much prettier, Weiss!"

While Weiss laughed at Ruby's attempt to talk herself out of a corner, Blake pulled herself as far back into the corner as her bed would allow and picked up the book she had started last night.

Winter may be all of those things…but she was also something else...

Fake.

If only Yang could see that too.

* * *

><p>The two girls under discussion returned an hour later.<p>

"That was _so_ much fun, Yang," Winter said while she walked through the door Yang politely held open for her. "We really must do that again."

Yang chuckled lightly in response.

"Sure, we can," she responded amiably with a small shrug of her shoulders. The elder Schnee grinned at the reply before gathering her things and heading into the bathroom, likely for a shower.

As soon as the bathroom door was closed, Yang turned to Blake, freezing her within a caring gaze while she approached the side of Blake's bed. When the blonde hopped onto the bed with her, she drew her legs to her chest in an effort to avoid any unnecessary contact with her partner.

"I take it the two of you had fun?"

She hoped the words didn't come out as bitterly as she felt when she spoke them, nodding towards the bathroom door to indicate who she was referring to.

Yang laughed, the merry sound making Blake's ear twitch in unhappiness.

"She can't fight for crap, so I taught her a few basic moves – and managed not to break any of her million lien bones," Yang answered somewhat proudly, before her expression grew worried once again.

"But how are you feeling?" she asked, voice quiet - as if she were telling Blake a secret.

"Better if I don't move."

The answer was at least honest - she couldn't feel any of the bruises as long as she remained in this perfect position on her bed.

"Do you need me to get you some ice or…something?" Yang continued to question her, seemingly determined to somehow help her feel better.

"I think I'm fine for right now…thank you," she replied with a small smile that Yang hesitantly returned.

"Ok…let me know if you need anything…" Yang said while scooting back off of Blake's bed to prepare to take her own shower. "And Blake…I'm sorry...for, you know, hurting you…"

She almost laughed out loud at the unwitting apology, knowing that Yang hadn't been intending to speak to pain Blake had been feeling ever since Winter had arrived. But that might be the best apology that Blake would ever get, since Yang didn't seem to seem to notice at all what Winter's presence was doing to her.

When Winter emerged from the bathroom, sparkling clean once again, Yang disappeared to take her own shower. Blake tried to ignore the beautiful girl, internally loathing how gorgeous she could look after doing something so simple as taking a shower. And when she did take the risk of glancing once at the girl, she found herself locked into blue eyes.

She turned away instantly, but it was already too late.

The mattress indented slightly beside her when Winter sat down on Blake's bed, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged in front of her. The audacity of the action left Blake nearly stunned for words, feeling the invasion of privacy and personal space begin to ring every fight or flight nerve she had. But she maintained a calm expression, not wanting to let Winter know how much it bothered her to have the heiress in her space.

But, she was most definitely _not_ welcome.

"She speaks very highly of you."

The words weren't what Blake had been expecting at all, causing her to look up at Winter in confusion. She instantly wished that she hadn't.

Winter's smile appeared so genuine, but there was something in those eyes...something that said Blake was not going to enjoy what was about to come.

"She hardly stops talking about all of the adventures the two of you have had together," Winter continued, not bothering to wait for Blake to respond. "I can't help but feel a little jealous. I can only wish I had such a close friend."

Blake flinched at the emphasis Winter put on the word 'friend,' causing the girl to smirk as her words had their intended effect.

"Of course, why anyone would just want to be _just _friends with someone like her is beyond me - she's absolutely exquisite. I mean, I understand why _you_ are just friends with her, but anyone with any worth shouldn't be satisfied as merely friends."

"Winter," Weiss cut in from across the room, voice issuing a warning.

"What? I'm not saying anything she doesn't already know. Yang deserves to be with someone just as extraordinary as she is."

"Don't confuse having money with being extraordinary," Blake said, voice low and quiet while she felt her eyes flash with unadulterated anger.

Winter just laughed at her response - pleased with having drawn Blake into whatever game she was playing.

"Ohh so you _do_ have some claws on you, after all," the older heiress commented gleefully, thankfully not noticing the tiny movement under Blake's bow at her use of the word 'claws.'

"Well, let me tell you something…"

Blake refused to lean backwards when Winter leaned closer to her, lowering her voice to hardly above a whisper so that Weiss and Ruby could no longer hear her words.

"If you had any interest in her at all, you should have done something about it _before_ I got here. Because, you see, someone of my...status...is used to getting what they want. And right now...I want her."

"Status means nothing to Yang," Blake managed to respond curtly through gritted teeth. She could feel anger coursing through her body at the girl's words and so very, very badly wanted to show Winter exactly what Gambol Shroud could do to someone of even her high _status_.

"Oh _please_," Winter shot back, unwittingly leaning backwards out of danger as she let out a dry laugh. "Do you really think someone would choose some...pauper...when they could live a comfortable, easy life and never have to worry about a thing? Money means _everything_ in this world. And fortunately, I happen to have a lot of it."

Blake glared at Winter when the girl grinned at her in triumph. Never before had she felt so much loathing for a singular person. She was beginning to believe that the White Fang targeting the Schnee Dust Company wasn't actually a horrible thing - because, outside of Weiss, they seemed to be evil, incorrigible people - rotten to the core.

Winter didn't know Yang _at all_. Who was she to say who was or was not good enough to pursue the blonde? And money alone would never be enough to win the blonde's heart.

The bathroom door opened at that moment, letting out a puff of steam while Yang walked back into the uncomfortably tense room. Winter instantly shot off of Blake's bed, but not before first sending Blake a wink that made her skin prickle with anger.

"Weiss, do you have any extra blankets? It was _really_ cold in here last night…" Winter spoke up, feigning an uncomfortable expression at the question.

Weiss let out an indignant little scoff at the request, but accommodatingly began opening drawers searching for extra covers.

"You should just sleep with Yang. She's like a portable heater," the heiress commented under her breath while removing extra pillows from a drawer.

Blake's heart dropped at the comment, hoping beyond hope that no one else had heard the girl. But when she saw the smile on Winter's face, she knew exactly what was going to come next.

"Oh, Yang, would you mind terribly? It was just so cold in here last night…I hardly slept at all."

Winter looked nearly bashful as she made the request, pairing it with a timid smile that could have convinced princes out of their crowns.

Yang looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable when everyone in the room turned their gazes towards her, expecting a response.

"Uh…well…I-I guess? I mean…if everyone is ok with that?"

Blake bit her tongue and stared down at her hands in her lap at the question. She didn't need to look up to know that Yang was looking her way, trying to gauge her response. But, yet again, she was trapped.

What was she supposed to say? She had no good reason for saying no besides the fact that she despised Winter with a furious passion and didn't want the girl to be any closer to Yang than she currently was.

"It's ok with me," she replied after several uncomfortable seconds of silence, voice hardly more than a whisper while she continued to avoid Yang's gaze.

She finally looked up when she heard Winter striding over the side of Yang's bed. Narrowing her eyes, Blake felt her ears flatten in anger beneath her bow – realizing that the girl had been trying to accomplish this all along and was nearly skipping in happiness over her most recent triumph.

Yang glanced at Blake once more before she politely hopped up onto her bed and reached down to pull Winter easily up behind her. Blake heard Winter start giggling along with shuffling on the bed, while Winter apologized for being such a klutz. She could only imagine what had just occurred out of her vision…

After the lights had been turned out, she was forced to listen to Winter's incessant whispering for the next few minutes, until the sound blissfully fell away to silence. But she already knew that she was in for a long night of no sleep. Her ears refused to come down from high alert – with every slight movement of the covers above her grabbing her immediate and complete attention.

She was always cold at night during the winter too, but she never complained about it – even when her partner was literally the hottest girl on campus. Or rather, she was too nervous to mention anything about it because she knew that Yang would instantly offer to keep her company.

But she was Yang's _partner_. The two of them were _supposed_ to be close. They hardly knew Winter…and Yang was already letting her sleep in her bed?

Why hadn't Yang just turned her down? It's not like anyone would have been upset at the blonde for saying no, except for maybe Winter. Yang could have easily said that she wasn't comfortable having someone else sleep with her, and no one would have blinked an eye.

Maybe the blonde really _had_ wanted this to happen, but was only pretending to be hesitant for Blake's sake.

If that was the case, Yang could save her concern for someone else. Blake was more than capable of dealing with Yang having a crush. That was perfectly fine with her.

Closing her eyes, she discovered that the mental image of Yang and Winter cuddled together in the bed above was now burned into the back of her eyelids.

She tried to erase the image and empty her mind, but found little success as a feeling of…resentfulness…began to stir within her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who's reading and leaving me comments! I love hearing what everyone has to say about where this is going.**

**But ready to finish this up? (This isn't the last chapter, but I'm going to post the rest today - Tuesday after editing) Here's the tipping point...**

**Did I ever mention that I don't own RWBY? Cuz I don't!**

* * *

><p>Exhausted couldn't even begin to describe how tired Blake felt the next morning, but she still managed to pull herself out of bed before anyone else had woken up. Her eyes felt extremely heavy, yet she wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible – if only to get away from the sight of Winter and Yang still sleeping peacefully in the bed above hers.<p>

The image turned her stomach one more time, bringing back the surging feeling of bitterness she had tried to control last night.

Since she was up before anyone else, she decided that she would just head down to breakfast early in order to avoid having to speak to any of her teammates that morning. Walking down the halls, she could feel the simmering ember of irritation still burning within her chest - with Yang's name written all over it.

Yang should be doing something to discourage Winter's behavior – not just allowing it to continue unchecked like she had been doing. Boundaries needed to be set…which Blake realized the blonde had probably never thought of doing before in her life...but without them, Winter would continue her elaborate act.

Walking into the cafeteria, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Velvet and her team were already there. They likely had an early hunt this morning that they had just gotten back from – either that or another overnight hunt.

Waving at the Faunus girl, Blake gathered her food and then approached their table.

"Can I join you this morning?" she asked, smiling when she received nods of approval from both Velvet and Coco.

She chatted happily with her fellow friends, embracing the freedom of not having Winter around absorbing all of the attention in the room. She noticed her own team walk into the cafeteria a few minutes later, but didn't pay them much attention, focusing instead on what Velvet was telling her at the time.

She also pretended not to see the countless confused and hurt looks Yang shot her way over the course of the meal.

There was no need for Yang to be hurt when she still had Winter hanging on her arm.

When breakfast had ended and Team CFVY headed off for their first class, Blake casually made her way to meet up with her own teammates. Avoiding the wounded expression Yang gave her, she struck up a conversation with Ruby on the proper way to clean a weapon, knowing that the brunette would rant about the topic all the way to the classroom.

She wasn't surprised at all to find out that Winter was a know-it-all, somewhat like Weiss only much more condescending and slightly…rude. The girl even had the nerve to answer some of Professor Obeleck's questions during their class, and corrected Professor Port on a misquote he made.

Blake tried her absolute best to keep her eye rolls to a minimum whenever Winter would open her mouth, but found that her teeth were taking the brunt of the trauma by how hard she was grinding them together.

Yet somehow, she managed to avoid speaking to Yang for nearly the entirety of the day. And when classes were over and Winter announced that they were going to go see the clock tower, Blake politely declined Yang's invitation to join them and headed back to the room by herself.

Her entire being felt out of sync without her partner by her side, sharing jokes and playful teases. It was somewhat ironic that she missed Yang so greatly. During her time in the White Fang, Blake had grown so accustomed to the idea of being alone that she had not enjoyed the concept of having a single partner for the entirety of her schooling. She had actually thought about dropping out when she found out that it was one of the requirements of attending the school.

But Yang was the best partner she could ever have asked for. Kind, thoughtful, loyal, strong...Yang was the embodiment of all the traits Blake, herself, cherished.

Of course, that's certainly not what she thought when she had first met the bubbly blonde…but that's what she firmly believed now.

While the rest of her teammates, plus Winter, explored Beacon, she immersed herself in one of her favorite books – trying to become lost in the pages and block out all of her other thoughts. But all she could see were images of Winter and Yang together - the smirks Winter would send her when Yang wasn't looking, the way Yang would laugh at things Winter said, the constant grazes of fingertips on Yang's arm or shoulder…

No matter what she did, she couldn't escape the feeling of being taunted - forced to watch Winter win Yang over in front of her very eyes.

Not even the best book in the world would be capable of ridding her mind of that feeling.

It was much later that the girls finally returned to the room, with Winter speaking to Yang about something, as usual. Blake's attention was quickly brought out of her thoughts when she caught the trail end of their conversation.

"So that place I was telling you about yesterday, I forgot to tell you that they have this flaming entree that is _to die for,"_ Winter remarked, making sure to send Blake a smile and friendly wave upon entering the room.

"It did sound amazing," Yang replied nonchalantly, also shooting a quick glance towards Blake before moving to store her schoolbooks away for the evening.

"Oh, I know – Yang, why don't you let me take you there tomorrow night for dinner?"

Whatever calm energy Blake had been able to channel for the entire day immediately boiled over when she heard the invitation. The way Winter asked was so innocent…so casual…but Blake knew it was anything but.

It was a date. Winter was asking Yang out. Right in front of her face.

And from the way things had been going recently, Yang would undoubtedly say yes.

Renewed anger rushed back to the forefront of her mind, visibly showing as a scowl she couldn't possibly hide. Snapping her book shut loudly, she hopped off her bed – hurriedly stuffing some notebooks and textbooks into her bag before standing to leave the room.

She needed to get out of here as quickly as possible; another second of listening to Winter would surely cause her resentment to snap. Her breaking point was just out of reach, but she could feel it fast approaching when she glanced towards Winter - finding the girl with a friendly smile upon her face, but eyes glinting in triumph.

"Where are you going, Blake?" Yang asked curiously, her sudden actions having delayed the blonde's response to Winter's invitation.

"The library," she responded curtly on her way out the door, brushing past a slightly smug Winter with a polite 'excuse me.'

"Oh, wait for me! I really need to work on that History of Vale paper," Yang called out after her as she began rapidly searching for her own things.

"I don't want the company," Blake replied without turning back or stopping, swinging the door shut behind her.

Of course, the blonde couldn't just leave her be – racing out the door behind her.

"Blake, wait!"

She didn't stop walking, feeling her anger boiling too close to the surface right now. Her hands were trembling while she tried to keep herself composed for just a few minutes longer.

She couldn't _deal_ with this right now. She couldn't face Yang while feeling this way.

But Yang caught up with her and grabbed ahold of her arm, turning Blake back towards her.

Yang's eyes were so full of sincerity and distress, Blake could hardly stand to look into them. Why did Yang care so much about her feelings? Why couldn't she just let Blake have a moment to herself - to be upset without interruption?

For the first time ever, she found herself wishing that Yang would just…care less.

"What's wrong, Blake?" Yang asked carefully. "It…it kinda seems like you've been avoiding me all day, and I can't figure out why. Did I do something to make you angry? Is this because of our practice last night?"

"If I've done something…please tell me what it was so that I can fix it…or at least, apologize for it…"

Yang's voice was filled with sadness - her lilac eyes begging Blake for a reply.

Guilt instantly washed over her when she witnessed firsthand the amount of pain she had put her partner through today. For some reason, she had truly believed that Yang wouldn't be affected at all by Blake's absence – she had Winter to keep her company, after all. But the girl currently standing in front of Blake was clearly upset that Blake had been avoiding her.

Deciding that she sorely needed to apologize for her poor behavior the last couple of days, she suddenly noticed something on Yang's wrist – something that looked oddly familiar.

"Is that Winter's bracelet?" she asked slowly – hoping, _praying_, that it wasn't. But she already knew the answer…since she had practically memorized Yang's entire wardrobe quite some time ago.

Yang glanced down at her hand in confusion before she understood what Blake was referring to.

"Oh, yeah. She wanted me to try it on, and I guess I forgot to give it back to her," she responded honestly. Turning her eyes back to Blake, Yang gave her a small smile, seemingly hopeful that Blake would speak to her now.

But whatever semblance of an apology had been formulating in Blake's mind instantly disappeared at the revelation – replaced with something much colder…sharper…

"You can't fix this," she replied unfeelingly, unflinching even when Yang's eyes widened in surprise. For the first time in quite some time, she could feel the sturdy walls snapping into place around her heart – lending her strength to withstand what was to come – allowing her to emotionally distance herself from her actions.

"It's _you_, Yang," she stated coolly the meaning behind her words failing to make a dent in her armor even when she witnessed the pain it caused Yang.

"You don't focus any energy on schoolwork because you spend too much time socializing. You're way too concerned with your appearance all the time – and your _hair_. God forbid a single strand is out of place for longer than a second."

Yang stared at her, mouth hanging slightly, eyes filled with shock and hurt, but it was too late for Blake to turn back now. The floodgates had been opened.

"You don't take _anything_ seriously enough. And when you do, you're so cocky about it, it's unattractive. And you _never_ think about anyone else's feelings…"

She suddenly felt her eyes beginning to burn with tears, even though her heart felt nothing.

"Just leave. Me. Alone," she said between gritted teeth, angrily twisting her wrist out of Yang's suddenly weak grasp.

Sparing one last glance at Yang, she noticed the beginnings of unshed tears in her partner's eyes before she spun and walked quickly away.

Her walls instantly came crashing down, crumbling into dust while every word she had just spoken came right back to stab her repeatedly in the heart. Tears were streaming down her own face by the time she turned the corner and broke into a sprint, spurring her legs to take her as far away as possible.

She had said everything but the truth.

She was jealous. She hated seeing anyone else monopolizing Yang's attention. She secretly had an enormous crush on the gorgeous blonde, and had for some time now. She couldn't stand the thought of Yang being with someone other than her.

But instead of saying any of that, she ripped the girl apart for things that weren't even true - things she didn't even believe.

…she made Yang cry.

* * *

><p>She would have stayed away all night, but something told her that if she didn't return at some point a campus wide search would be on for her first thing in the morning. Since the grounds surrounding Beacon were exceedingly deadly, the school took any student absences quite...seriously…<p>

The last thing she wanted was to get everyone all worked up for no reason.

But by the time she dared make her way back to the room, eyes red rimmed from the tears she had shed over the past few hours, everyone had already gone to sleep. Winter was once again sleeping in Yang's bed – a reality that felt like dagger had just been plunged through her heart.

But what could she say, or do? Yang was her partner, her teammate, her best friend. Even if she could figure out how to tell Yang how she felt, there was no guarantee that Yang would return those feelings...and the last thing she wanted to do was to ruin one of the best relationships she'd ever had.

Not that any of that really mattered now. The insults she had hurled into Yang's face this afternoon had most likely fractured their friendship beyond repair. And while Winter would be gone in a couple of days, that rupture would surely not go away anytime soon…

And now that Blake had completely destroyed any slim chance she might have had to become more than friends with Yang, she had paved the way for Winter to step right in.

When she managed to crawl into her bed, she instantly fell into a tortured sleep as exhaustion finally claimed her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Some rapid fire chapters coming out - only one more to go!**

* * *

><p>Blake woke up early again the next morning – much earlier than anyone else in the room. Thankfully, today was Friday and they would only have one class to attend before they would be free for the weekend.<p>

It also meant that Winter would be leaving shortly…the timing more upsetting to Blake than she had thought it would be.

If only she had been able to keep her composure for a few days longer…then none of this would have happened. Of course, since Winter would probably be coming back often to visit Yang when they were _dating_, it probably wouldn't have mattered if she had kept her mouth shut for another day.

Since she wasn't ready to face Yang in front of her teammates and Winter, she got ready as quietly as possible before heading off to eat breakfast by herself - making sure to leave her bed unmade so that her teammates would at least know that she had been there. This morning the cafeteria was empty, allowing her to eat silently before sneaking outside to find a good place to pass the time before class.

The early morning air was chilly as she walked out the front doors, which only made her miss Yang's presence by her side that much more. How many times had the two of them walked outside on a day exactly like today, and Blake had never felt cold at all?

But, as far as she was concerned, she didn't deserve to be warm today. She had earned every bit of the chill that was seeping through her jacket, causing her to shiver as her body attempted to warm itself.

Beacon's sprawling grounds provided more than enough space for her to waste away the time before class. And, with so few people outside this early, she was left alone to avoid her thoughts while exploring campus - searching for hiding spots or interesting places. Already having a few favorite secret places, she was always on the lookout for more – a never-ending quest that could keep her occupied for an entire year on end.

So engrossed in her hunt, she nearly forgot the time and missed class entirely. Rushing back into the school buildings, she made it just as class was about to begin, slipping into the room right behind Professor Port and sliding into the first seat by the exit.

Her teammates and Winter were already seated in their regular seats in front of her. When Professor Port was beginning his customary, rather lengthy, good morning lecture, Weiss turned around, eyes quickly scanning the room before locking onto Blake. The heiress frowned at her for a second before turning around and whispering something into Yang's ear.

The blonde noticeably stiffened at Weiss' words, but didn't move a muscle to look behind her.

The lack of response caused Blake's heart to fall, realizing just how gravely she had hurt her partner's feelings. For Yang not even to turn around and…wave at her? Smile? Anything?

The class passed excruciatingly slowly. Blake couldn't even be sure what Professor Port was speaking about, as her eyes refused to leave Yang's figure and her mind refused to stray from the girl. She could feel her heart leap every time her partner made even the tiniest of movements, hoping that maybe the blonde would turn her way.

But after more than a dozen false hopes, she realized that Yang wouldn't…not after the things Blake had said to her…she would probably be lucky if Yang didn't request to be assigned to a different partner...

When the class had finally been dismissed, Blake made sure she was the first out the door, not willing to face her partner just yet - not that Yang seemed willing to speak to her, anyway. She needed to come up with a really good apology first…or maybe she should just…

No, she couldn't run away. As much as her instincts wanted her to, that was the one thing she refused to do.

If she ran this time, she knew that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Her feet subconsciously guided her towards her favorite spot in all of Beacon – a place she had discovered by accident when she had been exploring the grounds by herself late one night. It was found at the top of one of the many spires jutting into the clouds, but could only be reached by scaling the outside – which was, by itself, a rather terrifying feat for the faint of heart. But, very near the top, there was a solitary window that opened into a small, abandoned room.

From what Blake had been able to find, there was no other entrance to the room except through the window. And while it didn't make sense to place a room in a location like this, she had figured that there were lots of mysterious designs around Beacon's campus – this just happened to be another one of them.

She would often come here when she needed time to think and didn't want to be interrupted – it was where she had spent most of last night crying after her unfortunate conversation with Yang. She had wanted to show Yang the room some time ago, but was now glad that she hadn't gotten around to doing that yet. The blonde would probably have just shown Winter by now, anyway…

Standing at the base of the spire, she took one quick glance around her to make sure no one was watching before she began her quick ascent – feet propelling her upwards while her hands instinctively found their routine handholds.

In no time at all, she was pulling herself through the unlocked window and dropping into the calming silence beyond. Over the past few months, she had brought some items up here to make the room more comfortable – some blankets, pillows, a lamp, several books, notebooks, snacks. It was normally a little chilly up here, but she found the tradeoff for complete silence to be agreeable.

Picking up one of the notebooks, she found a pen and began trying, once again, to write out an apology. The notebook quickly became filled with page after page of unsuccessful attempts, each failure hastily scratched out with spiteful lines.

Hours later, after the sun was already beginning its descent towards the horizon, a strange noise reached her ears – something that she had never before heard up here. Of course, hearing _anything_ other than the wind at this height wasn't usual. Curiously, she set the notebook in her lap while training her eyes and ears on the window.

The noise seemed to be getting closer. It sounded like…something scratching against the tile of the spire and…breathing?

The next second, Yang pulled herself through the open window.

"Whew…that is one scary climb," the blonde commented lightly while dusting some dirt and rubble off of her clothing.

"What are you doing here?" Blake asked in shock, scrambling to her feet. "How did you find me?"

Yang grinned at her sheepishly.

"Uh…well…I wondered where you were sneaking off to sometimes…so I secretly followed you and saw you climb up into this window," the blonde explained. "And when you didn't show up for dinner today, I figured that this might be where you went when you didn't want to be found, so…it was the first place I checked."

"Oh…"

Blake didn't know what else to say - a little disturbed that the blonde had been able to follow her without Blake noticing she was there. She really had taught the girl how to sneak too effectively.

She was also amazed that Yang had paid so much attention to her whereabouts that she had been able to find her 'secret' hiding spot. It was...thoughtful...in a way that Blake couldn't describe.

But her words from yesterday suddenly came rushing back to her, making her realize that she should be delivering her apology to Yang but hadn't even figured out what to say yet.

After standing there awkwardly for a few seconds, both of them began speaking at the same time.

"Yang-"

"Listen-"

Letting out a small chuckle, Yang raised her hand and said, "Let me go first."

Nodding her head, Blake anxiously waited for Yang to say whatever she wanted to say, noticing that her partner seemed to be struggling to find the right words.

"Listen…Blake…I'm really sorry – for all of the things you pointed out yesterday. Not taking things seriously, spending too much time on my appearance, not caring about anyone's feelings…"

Blake felt her heart throb painfully when she realized that Yang looked like she wanted to cry again. And _Yang_ was apologizing to _her_. Which was just wrong…all wrong…

"I'm…really sorry about all of those things. I had no idea they bothered you so much…but, please, _please_ Blake…forgive me for making you angry. I never wanted to make you mad…And I'll change! I swear it. I'll do anything…I just…hate that you've been avoiding me and…I miss spending time with you…"

Yang finally looked directly at Blake, lilac eyes shimmering with tears.

"I miss you…" she finished softly, voice quivering with unconcealed vulnerability.

Blake tried to swallow, finding that the large lump in her throat made it exceptionally difficult to do so. She could feel tears threatening to fall from her own eyes – feeling absolutely horrible about Yang's apology, which was completely unnecessary.

But…of course Yang apologized first…of course she had climbed all the way up here just to find Blake…

It was Yang…and Yang cared about her more than anyone else in the world.

How had she forgotten that?

"Yang…I'm the one who should be apologizing to you," she whispered, allowing her eyes to focus on the window behind her partner so as to avoid Yang's curious gaze. But she finally felt the words forming on her tongue – the _right_ words.

"I've just been…unhappy…with all of the attention Winter has been…demanding from you the last few days…" she began slowly. "I guess that you could say I've been a little…jealous…because I…"

Sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes while trying to summon the courage to finally say what she truly felt – finding that seeing Yang standing so closely to her made it impossible to form any words at all.

"B-because I think I kind of…have a little…crush...on you, maybe," she finished in one long breath before opening her eyes, finding Yang already staring at her in shock.

"Y-you…you have a crush on me?" the blonde sputtered, looking completely floored by the revelation.

"I think…" Blake instantly corrected, suddenly worried about how Yang was receiving her admission.

"For…uh…for how long?" Yang asked quietly, lilac eyes intensely searching Blake's – as if the answer could be found there.

Blake couldn't help letting out a sigh. How could she answer that question when _she_ didn't even know when it had happened? The feelings had just grown naturally from spending so much time together that Blake hadn't even noticed the difference until feelings of jealousy began to appear – although none of those moments had been as powerful as what she felt towards Winter.

"For a while now," was the most accurate answer she could provide.

"Un…believable…"

Blake watched Yang closely, trying to get a read on how her partner was feeling, when Yang broke into an enormous smile.

"So this entire time I've liked you, you've liked me too?"

"I – I'm sorry, what?" Blake asked, feeling one of her ears flick under her bow – confused about what she had just heard Yang say. She couldn't possibly have just said…

But Yang had already moved on, grabbing ahold of both of Blake's hands excitedly.

"Blake, I've only been being nice to Winter as a favor to Ruby! She asked me to keep Winter occupied so that she wouldn't treat Weiss poorly while she was here. That little critter just wanted to keep her girlfriend happy, so I agreed to help out."

Blake blinked once, feeling the warmth flowing through their joined hands beginning to drag her focus away from the words Yang was saying.

"Ruby…asked you to?" she managed to ask dumbly.

"I'm so sorry," Yang said. "I didn't even think…I never thought it would affect you much since…since it never seemed like you liked me in that way…"

A smile crept slowly onto Blake's face – finally understanding what a horrible misunderstanding this had been all along.

Yang didn't like Winter. She was just being nice to keep Winter happy – to keep Winter from tormenting Weiss. It was just a favor to Ruby…

Yang liked her.

Yang _liked_ her.

Yang grinned back at Blake while the two of them stood there – smiling at each other like idiots now that everything was out in the open.

"I'm sorry that I ever doubted you," Blake said openly, feeling the need to apologize for her mistakes now more than ever before.

"I'm sorry I made you jealous," Yang replied, a genuine smile erasing all of the hurt Blake had felt over the past few days.

The blonde finally took a few seconds to glance around the room they were currently standing in, while Blake refused to let her eyes leave her partner's face, determined to make this moment last for as long as possible.

"You know…this place would make a really great make out spot," Yang commented as she turned back to Blake with a big grin. "All secluded…no one can see you…oh hey that reminds me - don't you owe me some sort of really big reward for beating Pyrrha?"

Blake rolled her eyes when Yang winked at her, but then bit her lip in thought. Yang had already returned to her usual happy-go-lucky self and was eagerly awaiting Blake's response, yes or no.

Her heart started beating loudly while she gazed at her partner – the girl who had won Blake's heart in more ways than one. Quickly leaning forward, she pressed a quick kiss to Yang's lips – the first of what would hopefully be many more to come.

Although...she had no idea why she believed she would be able to simply back away after one quick kiss.

The blonde pulled Blake instantly back to her, nearly taking her off balance as Yang drew her into another kiss – this one much deeper, more urgent, than the first. Blake could feel herself becoming lost in the softness of Yang's lips, the smell of her shampoo, the feeling of the blonde's surprisingly soft hands brushing across her skin. An increasing amount of heat began to radiate from the blonde as together they poured more and more passion into their locked lips – months of pent up desire struggling to be released in a matter of seconds.

And in that one moment, Blake forgot what it had ever been like to be alone.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily and faces flushed, Blake looked up into Yang's eyes with a smile – casually running her fingers through blonde waves like she'd been dreaming of doing for some time now.

"I think…that will have to do for now," she replied breathlessly.

Yang beamed back at her – visibly thrilled with the sudden shift in their relationship. Her grin faded slightly when she turned back towards the window she had crawled through just moments earlier.

"So…uh…how do we get down from here without dying?"

* * *

><p>After their 'petrifying' descent from the spire, they had walked back to their room, happily talking as if nothing had changed between them at all. Well, nothing except for a marked increase in the number of times Yang's hand 'accidentally' brushed against her while they were walking side by side.<p>

Blake had managed to convince Yang (through bribery more than persuasion) that they should wait for a few days before telling their teammates about their newly discovered feelings for each other. Which was fortunate because Yang had been suggesting the none-too-subtle approach of walking into the room and promptly making out in front of everyone – the thought of which made Blake's cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Ok, so we're just going to pretend that nothing's happened, right?" Yang reconfirmed when their dorm room door came into view.

"Yes," Blake replied, glad that Yang was ok with doing things this way. "At least until we can speak to Weiss and Ruby privately…"

"If that's what you want," Yang responded cheerfully, before suddenly pushing Blake into the wall beside their door and forcefully kissing her right in the middle of the (thankfully empty) hallway.

"There's something else you can pretend didn't happen," Yang whispered, adding a wink when she noticed the rampant flush blossoming on Blake's cheeks.

Without another word, the blonde pushed open the door to their room, leaving Blake frozen in the hallway behind her.

Shaking her head in an effort to dispel some of the blush, she rushed into the room behind her partner – just in time to watch Winter shoot to Yang's side with a charming smile.

"There you are! I was worried that I was going to have to freeze tonight!"

Blake felt all of her muscles stiffen as rage coursed through her veins, but she said nothing – stiffly heading towards her own bed to pull out a change of clothes. It was remarkable how quickly her high from just moments ago could be shattered by that girl.

"Uh…actually…I promised Blake that she could use me as her heater tonight. She's been kind of cold the past few nights without me."

The words made Blake look up in surprise, finding Yang giving her a warm smile while Winter stared at both of them in shock.

She could feel the beginnings of another blush heating up her cheeks, but really didn't care at the moment.

"Her?" Winter sputtered, glancing at Weiss for support. Weiss merely shrugged her shoulders, looking more than a little amused that Yang had just turned Winter down.

Yang smiled kindly at Winter and said, "Yeah, her. Sorry."

Blake couldn't help grinning at Yang before turning towards the dumbfounded girl.

"That's ok with you, right?"

Winter's mouth opened and closed while she struggled to find the words she wanted to say, eyes flashing dangerously while she looked back and forth between Yang and Blake several times. For the first time, Blake could actually say that the girl looked…ruffled.

Eventually, Winter decided against making any comment, settling upon an annoyed huff as she spun around and stomped over to her own cot.

Blake couldn't help turning to give Yang another appreciative smile.

Clearly, Winter had never had any power over Yang, after all.

After the rest of Team RWBY had prepared themselves for bed, Blake walked over to her own bunk only to be stopped when a hand stuck down in front of her face. Glancing up, she found Yang extending her arm down towards her, gesturing for Blake to grab ahold while nodding her head meaningfully in Winter's direction.

It suddenly hit her that in order to keep Winter out of Yang's bed, she was _actually_ going to have to sleep beside her partner for the entire night. The thought hadn't even occurred to her earlier - just being satisfied that Winter _wasn't_ going to be sleeping with her partner that night.

Butterflies began fluttering furiously around her chest as she reached out and grasped Yang's hand, allowing the strong brawler to pull her effortlessly up to the top bunk beside her. Her heart was already pounding when Yang slid underneath the covers with her – flopping down on her side facing Blake.

For her part, Blake tried to calmly lay down without giving away the volume of nerves she was currently experiencing. She could feel a pleasant warmth beginning to envelop her while she gazed into lilac eyes, feeling her nervousness begin to melt away in Yang's comforting presence.

This was one of the things that had drawn her to Yang to begin with…somehow, the girl could always make her feel…relaxed…calm…safe.

Noticing Yang's eyes drift upwards, the blonde reached her hand up, pausing with it held right above Blake's ears. Yang looked at her, eyes questioning.

When Blake nodded slightly, Yang gently untied the ribbon that had been containing her ears for far too long. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she felt the warm air touch them, making them twitch happily. Yang giggled at the sight, throwing the discarded ribbon onto the bed behind her.

Feeling much more comfortable now that her ears were finally free, Blake scooted a little closer to the heat radiating from Yang's body, feeling it permeate her skin. It was so warm…so soothing…

When she looked up, she caught Yang smiling contently down at her. She smiled back and edged even closer to her partner before whispering something that she'd never said to _anyone_ before…_ever_.

"You can touch them…if you want…"

Yang's eyes grew wide in surprise, her mouth dropping open.

"I-I can?" she asked nervously, as if Blake might rescind the invitation immediately. But Blake nodded her head, feeling even more nerves building.

She didn't even know what it would feel like to have someone else touch her ears…but if she was ever going to let anyone, it was going to be Yang.

Tentatively, Yang brought one hand up and very, _very_ delicately brushed it against Blake's left ear. The feeling caused her to twitch in surprise, which made Yang jerk her hand backwards – afraid that she had just done something wrong. But she gave Yang a reassuring smile when the blonde glanced at her for permission to try again.

This time, Blake was more prepared for the sensation and managed to keep her ears still while Yang's warm hand ran through the soft fur, rubbing one ear lightly before switching to the other.

And it felt…absolutely amazing. More wonderful than Blake could ever have imagined it to be.

After a few more minutes of pure bliss, Yang moved closer to Blake and dropped her hand from Blake's ears in favor of wrapping her arm around Blake's waist. Now closer than she had ever been to her partner in a non-combat setting, Blake felt warmer and more content than she ever had in her life. She felt her eyes beginning to flutter closed while an inner peace settled within her heart.

A brief thought passed through her mind, but was quickly dismissed as she passed into unconsciousness.

"Why haven't we been doing this all along?"


	6. Chapter 6

**The end of Winter's stay has arrived...but she will be back (in the sequel when I find the time to write it).**

**Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, everything! I'm glad you enjoyed this little story of mine. **

**More bumblebee is on the way from me that I am so, so, so excited about! Keep an eye out for that - I'll probably put it up on Friday!**

* * *

><p>When Blake woke up the next morning, her spirits were higher than they had been in a long time, for just a couple of reasons.<p>

For one, she was still lying in Yang's bed wrapped within the blonde's strong arms – something she hadn't thought would happen in a million years. And two, today was the day of Winter's departure from their lives. And, hopefully, the girl would be gone for a very, very long time - forever might be ideal, actually.

As everyone else began waking up, she felt Yang begin to stir as well. She watched raptly while the blonde regained consciousness with a big yawn, eyes opening to reveal sleepy lilac gazing across the small space between them.

"Good morning," Blake whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear them or to ruin this magnificent moment she had somehow found herself in.

"Good morning," Yang responded with a sleepy smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully."

That might have been a modest way to put it - it had been the best sleep she had gotten in years.

"Good…" Yang replied with another smile before quickly leaning in and stealing a kiss. "What do you want to do today?"

"Blake! Yang! Time to get up!"

They both sighed at Weiss' demanding voice, but complied regardless – jumping down from the bed seconds later.

As soon as they hit the floor, Winter came over to greet Yang – sugary sweet smile still on her face. But her smile froze the instant she saw Blake – turning into an expression of confusion and disbelief.

"Y-you're a _FAUNUS_?"

Blake held a hand up to her uncovered ears in surprise at the girl's shriek, suddenly remembering that Yang had undone her bow last night and left it discarded on the bed while they slept. She turned to find Yang looking at her with what she could only imagine was an equivalent expression of horror on her face.

But the damage had already been done.

"You never said you were on a team with a _Faunus_!" Winter whirled to face her sister accusingly, again spitting out the term as if it tasted foul in her mouth.

"I didn't think that was important," Weiss responded disinterestedly. "I told you that I had three skilled teammates, and that was all you wanted to hear."

Winter scoffed at Weiss' comment.

"I can't imagine _she_ does anything but drag you down," she said coldly, shooting Blake a scathing look of distaste. "Your team must be much less successful than I thought."

Blake felt Yang bristle from beside her, but Weiss was the one who replied first.

"Actually, Blake is _extremely_ talented – she's the only student at Beacon who was admitted without any formal training. And Ruby is a _prodigy_ who was admitted two years earlier than the minimum age limit. If anything, _Yang_ is the least skilled person on this team – but you've had no problem begging for her attention the past few days."

"Hey!"

Winter looked around the room at them, a myriad of emotions running across her face.

"And even you will have to admit that Yang is a pretty talented fighter when she wants to be," Weiss finished with a satisfied nod.

Yang shook her head slightly, muttering, "Thanks, I think…"

"Father isn't going to approve of you being on a team with a Faunus," Winter replied, for the first time looking moderately worried about what their father might do, but Weiss just rolled her eyes.

"I really don't care what Father thinks about it - she's my teammate and that's all there is to it. If he has an issue, he'll have to bring it up with Professor Ozpin since _he's _the one who set the teams. And we _both_ know that he would never do that."

Winter stared at her sister - aghast that the girl would dare to dismiss their father's feelings so trivially. Blake could practically see the gears spinning in Winter's head while she tried to figure out some way to recover from this situation, her eyes flitting back and forth between Yang, Weiss, and Blake's ears.

When a sinister smile finally appeared, Blake felt her muscles tense up while she anticipated what was to come.

"That was a really cute bow you were wearing," Winter began slowly, skirting around her main subject like a vulture circling its next meal. "I thought that it looked very...well used...but figured that you just couldn't afford a better one. But, it's actually something you wear everyday, isn't it? It couldn't possibly be that the _rest_ of the school doesn't know you're a Faunus...could it?"

The smile Winter gave her was sickeningly sweet yet dripping in poison. Blake could feel her heart start racing when she heard the threat hidden within the seemingly innocent question.

"They actually do."

Both Winter and Blake turned to Weiss in surprise, just in time to see the younger heiress nonchalantly shrug her shoulders.

"Blake used to wear the bow all the time, but stopped once we found out she was a Faunus. She got it back out because you were coming; we didn't want to make you..._uncomfortable_."

The lie was fluid and believable. Blake, herself, might have even believed it if she didn't know it was far from the truth.

Winter seemed to be struggling with the explanation, observing Weiss closely while she tried to find any sign of fabrication. Weiss stared straight back, blue eyes clear and unafraid as she firmly stood up to her older sister.

"Well…" Winter finally began, turning back to Blake with another smile. "If _everyone_ knows...and now _I_ know...then you don't need to wear the bow anymore, right?"

Time seemed to slow down while Blake stared back at Winter, mind running at a million miles per minute as she tried to think of some way out of this situation. If she didn't wear her bow, all of Beacon _would_ find out that she was a Faunus. But if she put it back on, Winter would know that they were lying. In which case, Blake couldn't even begin to imagine what the girl would do with that knowledge.

When she felt a ray of warmth move closer to her side, she decided what she was going to do.

She smiled back at Winter, fully prepared to play this game and suffer the inevitable consequences. Before, she might have been terrified of all of her fellow students knowing her secret and treating her poorly, but...she knew that her teammates would never abandon her side. Most importantly...Yang would never leave her side.

"I guess not," she responded, the same smile firmly sealed to her lips. "Let's get ready and head down for breakfast."

Turning on her heel, she stalked into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind her, feeling her hands begin shaking when she realized what she had just agreed to do.

Walk down to the Beacon cafeteria...without her bow...very clearly announcing to everyone that she was a Faunus…that she had been hiding amongst them all this time...

That definitely hadn't been what she'd planned to do today - or this year, for that matter.

When everyone was finally ready to go, with her teammates dragging their heels a little more than usual, she took two deep breaths before they stepped out into the hallway, trying to ignore the smug look Winter was giving her.

As the last one out of the room, she pulled the door shut behind her - suddenly wishing that she was back on the other side, hidden underneath her covers. At the same moment, she heard the sound of Team JNPR's door closing across the hallway. Slowly turning, she found herself face-to-face with Ren and Nora.

"Good morning!" Nora called out with a happy wave while Ren simply nodded beside her.

"Good morning," Winter greeted politely, nearly gleaming with glee. "Sorry, I don't seem to recall your names. Blake, would you mind introducing me again?"

The question worked just as Winter had intended, forcing both Ren and Nora's attention in Blake's direction. She felt both of her ears flick nervously while the two students regarded her thoughtfully.

"This is Ren and Nora, two members from Team JNPR. Ren...Nora, this is Weiss' sister, Winter."

Her nerves showed themselves in her words while she floundered through the brief introduction. She didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from two of her closer friends. What would they say? Or do? Especially Nora - sometimes the girl could be more of a loose…

"You have the name forgetting disorder too, don't ya Winty!" Nora exclaimed joyfully, reaching over to wrap a heavy arm around the bewildered girl's shoulders. "Don't worry - happens to me all the time! For the first few months of school, I was calling Weiss 'Rice' and Yang 'Bang' and Jaune 'Shaun' and Pyrrha 'Nyrrha'..."

The excitable huntress continued her rant of names while forcefully directing Winter away from the group and towards the dining hall. Blake couldn't help but grin at the dumbfounded expression Winter was wearing while the two girls walked away.

"Shall we go?" Ren asked quietly, eyes looking steadily into Blake's while waiting for her response. Turning to her side, she found the rest of her teammates watching her, prepared to do whatever they could to help her.

She had been afraid of not having support, of being an outcast, of being...alone. That's why she worn the bow to Beacon. She had wanted the chance to fit in and be judged on her skills, not on the heritage she had no say in choosing.

But, in the eyes of her teammates and friends, she found more acceptance than she could ever have dreamed of. And while there may be times when wearing her bow might be better than dealing with the consequences of not...here, in her own school and amongst those she loved, maybe she could be herself - for once.

"Yeah, let's go," she responded to Ren with a smile, turning to follow Nora and Winter's path down the hallway.

The cafeteria was crowded at this time on a weekend morning, with all of the students milling about and causing a ruckus - glad to have a few days off from classes. Blake could hear the the droning sound of many voices from afar, and tried to guess how many of Beacon's students were here right now. Fifty percent? Seventy? Every single student in the school?

When they reached the cafeteria doors, she could feel her nerves beginning to mount once again, but refused to run away, spurred onward by Yang's warm presence by her side. The presence she had been sorely missing the past few days. She stepped through the doors purposefully, standing just inside the doorway while she waited for the reaction to occur.

She didn't really know what she had been expecting. Everyone to turn her way and let out a collective gasp? Outrage at her for having hidden so long? Students booing at her? Throwing food?

Any of those things would have made more sense to her than what actually happened - absolutely nothing.

Only a few students looked towards the door when they stepped inside, and those that did instantly turned back to the conversations they had been having without another thought. The rest of the room failed to even notice their arrival and Blake quickly realized that they were all too consumed with their own lives to take the time to glance her way.

The lack of reaction allowed her exhale, releasing the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. She looked up when she felt a warm hand slip into her own - finding Yang gazing at her with a caring smile. Her confidence rebuilt with that single small gesture, she strode forward, hand-in-hand with her partner, to collect their food.

There were a few stares, but nothing egregious or long lasting. And there were many whispers, but those surprisingly had much more to do with the person Blake was holding hands with than her ears...by the time they had joined a sulking Winter and bubbly Nora at a table, it was breakfast as usual.

Well...almost breakfast as usual - the only exception being the suddenly sullen Winter Schnee, who had done a complete reversal from her effervescent attitude from the past few days. The girl suddenly had a chilly exterior that put even Weiss' to shame.

The rest of them did their best to ignore the girl, which Blake found very easy to do when she had the complete, undivided attention of a certain blonde partner of hers.

Yang nearly refused to take her eyes off of Blake, resulting in more than a few blushes on her part. The blonde was constantly leaning in to whisper in her ear, while her hand lightly grazed Blake's leg - the touch sending waves of chills up and down Blake's spine each time.

It was, by far, the best breakfast she had ever had at Beacon to date, and not even Winter's occasional glares or icy presence could get under her skin this morning.

When they had finished their meal, they decided to hang around the front lobby for the next couple of hours before Marshall would return to collect Winter and her belongings. The lobby was the best place to people watch on the weekends as students rushed in and out on their own tasks. Some teams would go out to practice while others were headed into Vale for shopping or other outings.

For her part, Blake hardly thought about her uncovered ears anymore. It was only when Velvet gave her a quick wink while she walked past with the rest of her team did Blake even remember her bow was gone.

They passed the idly time chatting about the past week and their plans for the weekend. Weiss and Ruby tried several times in vain to get Winter involved in the conversation, but the girl seemed content to sit there sullenly - staring out the front windows while tapping her perfectly manicured fingertips impatiently on the edge of her chair.

As soon as the black town car could be seen on the very outskirts of Beacon's property, Winter shot to her feet, clearly anxious to get away from this place.

"Would you mind helping me with my bag?" the girl asked Yang politely, her sweet smile still fully operational.

After a quick glance towards Blake, Yang shrugged her shoulders and easily shouldered the bag. They exited the school just as they had entered, with Yang walking ahead by Winter, while Blake trailed behind with Ruby and Weiss. But the atmosphere couldn't have been more different from when the girl had first arrived.

"Did you ever find out why she visited?" Blake asked while keeping her eyes fixated upon the two girls in front of her.

"Just to mess with me," Weiss answered flatly. "Or, as she put it, 'Can't I just _want_ to see my little sister once in awhile?'"

Ruby giggled at Weiss' perfect impersonation of Winter's voice as they approached the car, watching Yang hand Winter's luggage over to Marshall to be stowed away.

"Well, it was _very_ nice to meet all of you," Winter began as she turned back to face them, her poised energy completely restored. "And Weiss, it was great to see how you're doing here. I know we all had our doubts about how you would be able to manage such a school."

Weiss scowled at the insult, but said nothing in return.

"Oh, I know! You all really must come to the Schnee Ball next year!" Winter suggested, eyes suddenly shining with excitement at the prospect.

All four members of Team RWBY stared at the girl like she was out of her mind, but Winter seemed completely undeterred.

"All of Vale's wealthiest and most powerful will be in attendance," she continued while sliding elegantly into the backseat of the vehicle. "Blake will have to wear the bow, of course, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem, should it?"

With those words, the door closed and the car began moving away from them - taking Winter out of their lives.

"I can't believe you thought I liked her," Yang said, breaking the silence as she let out a small giggle.

"Hey, you were pretty convincing at 'keeping her company!'" Blake protested, which only made Yang dissolve into real laughter.

"I'm so glad she's gone though..." she added, feeling muscles she didn't even know she had relaxing now that Winter had been taken away from their school. Apparently, having two heiresses in her life was one too many.

Feeling a warm hand slip into her own, she turned her gaze to Yang's.

"Although I guess there is one thing I should be thankful to her for..." Blake whispered, moving closer to Yang and enjoying the warm air cutting through the cold.

"If you say me, I'm going to kiss you," Yang whispered back to her, leaning slightly closer in anticipation while Blake smirked at the response.

"If she'd never visited, things might never have happened between me and...you…" she said, grinning at the end while emphasizing the word 'you.'

True to her word, Yang instantly drew her into a loving kiss - completely removing any thought from Blake's mind that didn't have to do with her fiery partner.

An embarrassed cough brought her crashing back to reality as the two of them jerked apart, turning to find their two teammates staring at them with jaws dropped, equal expressions of dismay written upon their slightly red faces.

"When did THAT happen?"

Yang laughed while Blake blushed deep red in embarrassment at Ruby's question.

As the four of them walked back towards their room, she let Yang recount the exciting story of what had happened between them yesterday - although she hastily cut in when the blonde was going to go into _far _greater detail than necessary (seriously, Ruby and Weiss did _not_ need to know how she kisses).

She laughed when Ruby teased Yang about finally having a real girlfriend, causing the blonde to chase her sister through the front doors of Beacon - leaving her and Weiss trailing behind.

"You know that Winter won't give up that easily, right?"

Surprised, she turned to look at Weiss, whose clear blue eyes were carefully following her younger partner as Ruby and Yang ran about ahead of them.

"If anything, she's only going to try harder now. She'll never accept that there's a person on this planet who she can't have."

Blake turned her eyes towards Yang, who had somehow managed to capture her speedy younger sister and was now tickling her mercilessly.

She didn't respond to Weiss comments, although she could feel that they were true. Unfortunately, that meant that she had not seen the last of Winter Schnee.

But, if and when that day came, Blake would be more than ready. Now that she knew Yang returned her feelings, she wouldn't sit idly by if Winter attempted to steal the blonde away.

Of course, that was a problem for another day. For now, their lives could return to normal. Well...the new normal.

And, the next time Yang was given the opportunity to choose an opponent in Professor Goodwitch's class, she once again chose Blake.

Blake wiped the floor with her.


End file.
